Wire flattening, hooking, and feeding device



WIRE FLATTENING', HOOKING AND FEEDING DEVICE Filed oct. 50. 1955 June10, 1958 R. M. TERRY ETAL '7 Sheets-Sheet 1 lNvENToRs ROLAND M. GARDNERBROGER M. TERRY ATToRNE June 10, 1958 R. M. TERRY ET AL 2,838,075

WIRE FLATTENING, HooKING AND EEEDING DEVICE Filed oct. 5o, 1955v E 7sheets-sheet 2 45a 5 l" 20a :o4

2a o 232 l :5 @i a@ i: 250' y 230 I rll 286 l' :I 5:; :I :as

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INVENToRs ROLAND M GARDNER ROGER M TERRY BY ATTORNE June l0, 1958 R. M`TERRY ETAL 2,838,075

WIRE FLATT'ENING, HOOKING AND FEEDING DEVICE Filed oct. so, 195s 7sheets-sheet s 73g ATTO RN Y June 10, 1958 -R. M. TERRY ETAL 2,838,075

WIRE FLATTENING, HooxING AND FEEDING DEVICE E Filed Oct. 50, 1955 7Sheets-Sheet 4 June 10, 1958 R. M. TERRY ET AL 2,838,075

WIRE FLATTENING, HOOKING AND FEEDING DEVICEv Filed oct. 30, 195:5 1 7sheets-'sheet 5 lNvENToRs ROLAND M. GARDNER OGER M. TERRY A'ITORN Y Junel0, 1958 R. MQTERRY ET AL 2,838,075

WIRE FLATTENING, HooKING AND FEEDING DEVICE 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Oct.50, 1955 June 10, 1958 R. M. TERRY ETAL 2,838,075

WIRE FLATTENING, HooxING AND FEEDING DEVICE 7 Sheets-Sheet '7 Filed Oct.50, 1953 INVENTOR ROLAND M. GARDER ROGER M. TERRY ATTORN United States4Patent* y WIRE FLATTENING, HOOKING, AN DFEEDING DEVICE Roger M. Terry,Ipswich, and Roland M. Gardner,

Swampscott, Mass., assignors to Sylvania Electric Products Inc., Salem,Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application October 30, 1953,Serial No. 389,366

2 Claims. (Cl. 140-71.6)

This invention relates to the manufacture of electrical devices and moreparticularly to the manufacture of stems and the like for electricaldevices such as lamps.

In the manufacture of stems for certain types of incandescent lamps, forexample, it is the general practice to form hooks on the ends of thelead wires and to mount the lamp lament on the hooks. The development ofa satisfactory apparatus for` selecting and feeding hooked lead wiresindividually from a supply thereof to a lamp stem machine has not beentoo successful, primarily because of the difiiculty in keeping thehooked portion of one lead wire from interlocking with other lead wiresin the supply and thus causing malfunction of the mechanisrn employed toselect and feed the lead wires individually. -Manual feeding of hookedlead wires to the heads of a lamp stem machine is a relatively expensiveoperation, avoidance of which is highly desirable.

Accordingly therefore, an object of this invention is to automaticallyfeed hooked lead wires.

Another object is to provide an apparatus for forming a hook in a leadwire after it has been selected from 2,838,075 Patented June l0, 195

ICC

Figure 5 is a transverse sectional View taken along the line 5-5 ofFigure l, showing in plan the wire flattening rolls and their actuatingmechanism, the mechanism for actuating the hook former, and a pair ofjaws for transferring a hooked lead Wire to a head of a stem machine. Aportion of the cover plate on the casting in which the mechanism foractuating the wire attening rolls is disposed is broken away, and onepair of wire-gripping jaws a supply thereof and before it is deliveredto a head of a stem machine.

A'further object is to provide an apparatus for selecting a lead wirefrom a supply thereof,`flattening a portion thereof, and then forming ahook in the flattened portion.

A further object is to provide an apparatus for selecting a lead wirefrom a supply thereof, flattening a portion thereof, forming a hook inthe attened portion, and feeding the hooked lead wire to a head Yof astem machine.

These and other objects, advantages and features of our invention willbe apparent from the description below of a specific embodiment thereof.

In accordance with the principles of our invention, as illustrated inthe specific embodiment thereof shown in the accompanying drawings anddescribed below, a lead wire is selected from a supply thereof and fedto a mechanism for flattening a portion thereof. After the flatteningoperation has been completed, a hook is formed in the flattened portionand the hooked lead wire is then fed to a head of a stem machine.

In the specific embodiment of our invention shown in the accompanyingdrawings, Figure l is a side elevational view, partly in section, of theupper portion of a wire attening, hooking and feeding apparatus.

Figure la is a side elevational view, partly in section, of the lowerportion of the apparatus of Figure l.

Figure 2 is a front view, partly in section,'of the upper portion of awire llattening, hooking and feeding apparatus.

Figure v2a is a front view, partly in section, of the lower portion ofthe apparatus of Figure 2.

Figure Y3 is a front elevational view,l partly in section, of theapparatus for selecting a lead wire from a supply thereof.

of the apparatus of Figure 3.

has been omitted, for clarity of illustration.

Figures 6, 7 and 8 are sectional views taken along the line 6-6 ofFigure 5 sequentially illustrating the wire flattening and hookingoperations.

Figure 9 is a side elevational view of the upper portion of the wireiiattening, hooking and feeding apparatus showing the relativedisposition of the several parts thereof after the flattening andhooking operations have been performed and before the wire is fed to ahead of the stem machine.

. Figure l0 isa side elevational View, partly in section, of themechanism for delivering a hooked lead wire to a head of the stemmachine, showing its disposition at the end of the delivery stroke andits relationship with respect to the wire guiding tube.

Figure 1l is a plan view, partly in section of the jaws which deliverthe hooked lead wire to the head of a stern machine as in Figure 10.

Referring now to Figures l, 2, 3 and 4, post 20, on or about which mostof the mechanisms which comprise the apparatus of this invention aredisposed, is provided with a table 22 at the top thereof. Receptacles 24and 24', within which a plurality of lead wires 26 and 26 are disposed,are mounted on the top face of the table 22 and chutes 28 and 28 dependtherefrom. The receptacles 24 and 24 are provided with barriers 30 and30 for controlling the movement of lead wires 26 and 26. ySince twoleadwires are fed atthe same time by identical mechanisms, only onemechanism will be described.

Primed reference numbers have been assigned tothe cor responding partsof the other mechanism shown in the drawings.

The mechanism for selecting a lead wire 26 from the receptacle 24 anddelivering it to the chute 28 is supported from a bracket 32 attached toan end of rod 34 which extends through and is reciprocable within post20. This mechanism comprises rod 36 depending from and reciprocablydisposed within bracket 32, block 38 attached to rod 36, and lead-wirepick-up linger 40 mounted on sleeve 42 which is rotatably disposedwithin `block 38. Rod 36 is provided with a lateral extension 44 throughwhich a screw 46, which serves as an adjustable stop, extends. Thepick-up linger 40 has a chamber 48 therein extending from the mouth 50thereof to sleeve 42. Movable valve plate 52, which is mounted on sleeve42, has a manifold 54 formed therein, through which communication isestablished alternately to ports S6 and 58 in fixed valve plate 6G.Ports 56 and 58 are connected to a source of compressed air and a vacuumpump respectively through tubes 62 and 64 respectively. Valve plate 60is held fixed by a stiff wire 66 which is attached at one end thereof toplate 60 by screws 68, the other end thereof being fiXedly attached toblock 38. Valve plates 52 and 60 are maintained in close frictionalengagement with one another by spring-loaded pin 7) formed integral withvalve plate 52. Pick-up linger 40 has a laterally extending protuberance72 which, during the operation of the finger 40 as will be describedmore fully below, moves into and out of engagement with a pin 74 whichlies in its path. Pin 74 is mounted in a bracket 76 attached to a post78 mounted on table 22. Post 7S, in conjunction with bifurcated plate 80Which is mounted on rod 34 and through the bifurcation of which the post78 extends, serves to maintain the lead-wire feeding mechanism incorrect alignment by preventing lateral displacement` thereof. Themovable valve plate 52 is spring loaded by spring 82, one end of whichrides on extension 41 of pick-up ringer 40 and the other end thereofbeing at` tached to block 38.

Referring now to Figures l and 2, lead wires 26 and 26', which aredeposited in chutes 28 and 28 by pick-up fingers 40 and 40', arereceived from the chutes 28 and 28' by funnels 84 and 84'. Funnels 84and 84' are mounted on arms 86 and 86 which are slidably disposed onrods 88 and 88'. In the rest position, arms 86 and 86' seat on collar 90xedly mounted on the post 20. Since the arms 86 and 86' are slidablydisposed on rods 88 and 88', means are provided for preventing lateraldisplacement of these arms. This means comprises a pair of bifurcatedarms 92 and 92' mounted on the top faces of arms 86 and 86 and attachedthereto, and a pair of rods 94 and 94' mounted on the collar 90. Thuswhen rods 88 and 88 are reciprocated to raise and lower funnels 84 and84' as will be described more fully below, the funnels are maintained inproper vertical alignment. A latching mechanism 96 xedly mounted on post20 serves as a means for locking rods 88 and 88' in the up position asshown in phantom (Fig. l). Funnels 84 and 84' are raised from theposition shown in solid to the position shown in phantom (Fig. l) byrods 98 and 98' which are xedly mounted in and depend from the arms 86and 86 on which the funnels are mounted. Rods 98 and 98 are so actuatedwhen rods 88 and 88 are moved upwardly, the upward movement of rods 88and 88' being translated into similar movement of rods 98 and 98'through arms 100 and 100' iixedly mounted on rods 88 and 8S' and thecasing of solenoids 102 and 102' mounted on the arms 100 and 100', thetop face of the casing of solenoids 102 and 102 moving into engagementwith and pushing upwardly the rods 98 and 98 (Figs. 1 and 10).

Referring now to Figures 1, 2 and 5, post 20 has a casting 104 xedlymounted thereon by cap 238, the casting 104 serving as a mounting andsupporting member for the lead-wire flattening mechanism which will nowbe described. Casting 104 is provided with a bore 106 within which shaft108 is disposed. Shaft 108 is connected through yoke 110 to connectingrod 112. Rack 114, attached to shaft 108 by screw 116, meshes with gear118 disposed within a cavity in casting 104 and mounted on shaft 120journaled in the wall of casting 104. The casting 104 is provided with acover plate 105 which serves to close the cavity and thereby protect themechanism therein. Shafts 122 and 124 (Figs. 6, 7 and 8),

which are also journaled in the walls of the casting 104, have wireflattening rolls 126 and 126 and wire attening rolls 128 and 128'respectively (Fig. 5) mounted on the ends thereof. Shaft 122 is drivenby the rack and gear l114 and 118 through gear 130 mounted on shaft 122.Shaft 124 is driven from gear 130 by a similar gear (not shown) mountedon shaft 124.

Rods 132, extending transversely of and mounted on an end of casting 104have crossheads 134 and 134 slidably disposed thereon. Arms 136 and136', attached to the crossheads 134 and 134', support the lead wirehook forming mechanisms, each of which comprises a slotted anvil 138mounted on and depending from arm 136 (Figs; 5, 6, 7 and 8), and pin 144eccentrically mounted on one end of shaft 148. Shaft 148 extends througharm 136 and has a gear 150 mounted on the other end thereof. Gear 150meshes with gear 152 mounted on shaft 154 journaled in the side of arm136. One end of lever 156 is mounted on shaft 154, the other end thereofbeing attached to connecting rod 158.

The crossheads 134 and 134', which are slidably disposed on rods 132,are connected by links 160 and 160 to block 162 attached to rod 163journaled in casting 104. Arms 164 and 164 connect block 162m lever 166.

Referring now particularly to Figures l, 5, and 11,

the mechanism for carrying a lead Wire from the iiattening and hookingmechanisms shown particularly in Figures 6, 7 and 8 to a position invertical alignment with a head of the stem making machine will now bedescribed. Solcnoid 102, which is mounted on arm pinned to rod 88,comprises a coil 168 having lead wires 170 extending therefrom and acore 172 slidably disposed therein (Fig. l0). A movable jaw 174 (Fig.l'l) is pivotally mounted at 176 on the core 172. The movable jaw 174 isprovided with a pin 178 which rides in a slot 180 in a fixed jaw 182.Spring 184, which connects the iixed jaw 182 to the movable jaw 174,loads the movable jaw and tends to urge it to a closed position withrespect to the jaw. The iixed jaw 182 is provided with an adjustabiescrew 186 extending therethrough and engageablc with arm 188, on theouter end of which wire guiding tube 190 is mounted. Arm 188 is attachedto block 192 by screw 194. Block 192 is pivotally mounted on thevertical leg of bracket 196 by shoulder screw 198. Vfhe horizontal legof bracket 196 is provided with a bore 200 through which iiexible wire202, which is attached to and depends from block 192, extends. Bracket196 is lixedly mounted on rod 204 near the top thereof. Arm 206, whichis iixedly mounted at one end thereof on rod 204 immediately beneathbracket 196, is bifurcated at the other end thereof and partiallycncircles rod 88, thereby controlling the vertical alignment of rod 204.Aetuation of rod 204 (Fig. l) is effected by rod 88 through arm 208which connects these two rods to one another. One end of arm 208 isxedly mounted on rod 88; the other end of arm 208 is slidably disposedon rod 204 and has a depending sleeve 210 through which rod 204 extends.When rod 88 moves upwardly carrying the arm 208 with it, the arm 208 andits sleeve 210 moves upwardly on rod 204 until its strikes arm 206 whichis iixedly mounted on rod 204; then furthe-r upward movement of rod 88carries arm 206, rod 204, and the several members supported thereonupwardly to bring the wire guiding tube 190 int-o wirereceiving positiondirectly beneath the anvil 138 and pin 144 which comprise thehook-forming mechanism (Figs. 6, 7 and 8).

The drive mechanisms, for actuating the several operating devices justdescribed, will now be described, referring particularly to Figures l,la, 2 and 2a. Generally speaking the drive mechanisms consist of aplurality of cams on a ca-m shaft and a plurality of lever arms on alever arm shaft with connecting rods translating the motions to thedevices which operate on the work.

Rod 34, which actuates the wire pick-up mechanism and which extendsthrough and is reciprocable within post 20, rests on one end of leverarm 212 mounted on -lever arm shaft 2114. Lever arm 21'2 is providedwith a cam roller 212g which rides on cam 21217 mounted on cam shaft213.

Rods 88 and 88', which reciprocate the funnels 84 and 84' throfugh arms100 and 100' and rods 98 and 98', and which reciprocate Wire guidingtubes 1-90 and 190' through arms 208 and 208' and rods 204 and 204', arecach provided at one end thereof with a yoke 216 (Fig. la) which isconnected to connecting rod 218 through rod end 220. The other end ofrod 218 is connected to lever arm 222 mounted on lever arm shaft 214.Lever arm 222 is provided with a cam roller 222:1 which rides on `cam222b mounted on cam shaft 213. Yoke 216 is provi-ded with a cam follower224 which rides in a `cam track 226 formed in stationary cam 228 mountedou and depending from plate 230 -attached to collar 232 iixedly mountedon post 20.

follower 244a which rides on cam 244b mounted on cam shaft 213.

Rod 158 (Fig. 1), which is connected through lever 156 and gears 152 and1150 to the pin 144 of the hook forming mechanism (Figs. 6, 7 and 8), isconnected at one end thereof to bellcrank lever 246 supported on shaft248 but freely rotatable thereon. Bell crank lever 246 is connectedthrough connecting rod 250 to lever arm 252 mounted on lever arm shaft2114. Lever arm 252 is provided wi-th a cam follower 25201 which rideson cam 252b mounted on cam shaft 213.

Rod 158' (Figs. 1 and 5), which is connected to the hook formingmechanism on the side of the apparatus opposite that shown n Figure l,is `connected to a lever 254 fixedly mounted on one end of shaft 248.Lever 256, fixedly mounted on the other end of shaft 248, is connectedthrough connecting rod 258 to lever arm 260 (Fig. la) mounted on leverarm shaft 214. Lever arm 260 is provided with a cam follower 260e whichrides on cam 26817 mounted on cam shaft 213. n Connecting rod 112, whichis connected to shaft 108 on which the rack 114- for actuating lthe wireflattening rollers 126 and 128 is mounted, is connected to lever arm 262('Fig. la) mounted on lever arm shaft 214. Lever `arm 262 is providedwith a cam follower 262:1 which rides on cam 262b mounted on cam shaft213.

`Solenoid 102 (Figs. 1, 10 and ll), which controls the opening ofmovable jaw 174 of jaws 174 and 182 which carry the lead wire from theiattening rolls 126 and 128, 4has lead wires 170 extending therefromwhich are connected to switch 264 (Fig. la). Switch 264 which is mountedon a suitable fixed support 266, is cam-actuated through cam follower268 on arm 27 0 pivotally supported on and depending from switch 264.Caml follower 268 rides on cam 268i; mounted on cam shaft 213, the cam268a having lobes 26812 and 268C thereon.

- The iirst step in the operation of the above-described apparatus isthe selection of a lead wire 26 and a lead wire 26 from their respectivereceptacles 24 and 24'- and the feeding of the lead wires to theirrespective chutes 28 and 28. Since the two lead wires 26`and 26' are fedat the same time by identical mechanisms, the operation of only one ofthem will be described. Rod 34 is reciprocated within the post 20 (Fig.la) by lever shaft 212, cam roller 212a and cam 21211 to thereby effectreciprocation of bracket 32 which is mounted theron (Figs. 1 and 2) andreciprocation of rod 36 which is supported from bracket 32.Reciprocation of rod 36 (Figs. 3 and 4) effects similar movement of thelead wire pick-up finger 40 to which the rod 36 is connected throughblock 38 and sleeve 42. The receptacle 24 has an opening of substantialsize in its front face so that when the finger 4i) reciprocates, themouth 50 thereof will brush against the stack of lead wires and draw oneof the lead wires thereagainst and retain it due to the `suction inducedby a vacuum pump connected through tube 64, port 58, manifold 54, sleeve42 and chamber 48 in the finger 4t). With a lead wire 26 held in themouth 50 of the linger 40, the linger 40 is moved upwardly (Fig. 3)until the protuberance 72 thereon strikes pin 74. With the furtherupward movement of the linger 48 thus arrested, the further upwardmovement of rod 36 causes the finger 40 to rotate from the positionshown in solid to the position shown inphantom in Figure 3. When thefinger 40 rotates' to the position shown in phantom in Figure 3, themovable valve plate 52 rotates therewith, thereby moving port 58 out ofregister with manifold 54 and moving port 56 into register with manifold54. Compressed air fed to port 56 through tube y62 thus blows lead wire26 out of the mouth 50 of linger 40 and into chute 28. At the start ofthe next cycle ofoperation of iinger 40, i. e., as the finger 40 startsits downward travel and the protuberance 72 moves away from engagementwith pin 74, spring 82 returns the movable' valve plate 52 to a positionwhere the vacuum line 64 and port 58 are in register with manifold 54.

The lead wire 26 falls from the chute 28 (Fig. 1) through funnel 84 andinto nozzle 85 which guides the end thereof into engagement with theperipheries of flattening rolls 126 and 128 (Fig. 6). The wire 26 is nowin position for execution thereon of the wire flattening operation. Thisis accomplished by rotation of the flattening rolls 126 and 128 to drawthe wire 26 downwardly therebetween from the lposition shown in Figure 6to the position shown in Figure 7. The flattening rolls 126 and -128 arerotated to effect this operation by cam 262b (Fig. 1a) through camroller 26211, lever shaft 262, connecting rod 112, yoke 110 (Fig. l),shaft 108, rack 114, gear 118 (Fig. 5) and gears 130 mounted on shafts122 and 124 (Fig. '6) on which flattening rolls 126 and 128 are mounted.

With the dat 26a now made on the end of lead wire 26 (Fig. 7), the hookforming mechanism (Fig. 5) disposed on arm 136 must be brought inwardlyfrom the position shown in Figure 5 to operable relationship withrespect to the flat 26a. This is accomplished by. cam 244b (Fig. la)through cam follower 244:1, lever shaft 244, connecting rod 242, lever240 (Fig. l), shaft 234, lever 166, arm 164 (Fig. 5), block 162, link160, and crosshead 134 slidably disposed on rods 132. As the block 162moves to the left in Figure 5, the link 160 draws the crosshead 134,which carries the arm 136, inwardly, thus moving the slotted anvil 138into position in register with the end of lead wire 26. The flatteningrolls 126 and 128 are further rotated to draw the flat 26a down throughthe slot in anvil 138, thereby positioning the lead wire 26 forexecution thereon of the hook forming operation. During this portion ofthe rotation of flattening rolls 126 and 128, the wire 26 is drawndownwardly by the flexible pads 127 and 129'of the rolls 126 and 128which prevent further flattening of the wire 26.

The hook forming mechanism is actuated by cam 252b (Fig. la) through camfollower 252a, lever shaft 252, connecting rod 250, bellcrank lever 246(Fig. 1), connecting rod 158, lever 156, shaft 154, gear 152, gear 158mounted on one end of shaft 148 and pin 144 (Figs. 7 and 8)eccentrically mounted on the other end of shaft 148. Rotation of shaft148 by this mechanism causes the eccentrically mounted pin 144 to swinginto engagement with the flat 26a of lead Wire 26 and bend it backagainst the outside face of anvil 138, thereby forming the hook (Fig.8).

A separate similar mechanism is employed to actuate the hook formingmechanism on the side of the apparatus opposite that shown in Figure 1toform the hook in lead wire 26. It is actuated by cam 260b (Fig. lo)through cam follower 260a, lever arm 269, connecting rod 258, lever 256,shaft 248, lever 254, and connecting rod 158. (Fig. 5).

As soon as the hooks have been formed on the ends of lead wires 26 and26', the hook forming mechanisms are immediately retracted to permit thewire gripping jaws 174 and 182 and 174 and 182 (Figs. l, 5 and 11) to bemoved into wire gripping position. This is accomplished by the returnstroke of crossheads 134 and 134 on rods 132 to the position shown inFigure 5. The jaws 174 and 182 are raised from the position in whichthey are shown in Figure l to the position in which they are shown inFigure 9 by the rod 88. The rod 88 is Z thereby effecting rotation ofrod 88. This rotation of rod d8 carries the wire gripping jaws from theposition in which they are shown in the upper half of Figure to apositionin register and in operable relationship with respect to thelead wire held between the wire attening rolls.

Since the funnel $4 and the nozzle 85 depending therefrom are normallyin the position shown in Figure l, they must be elevated a distancesuicient to permit the wire gripping jaws 174 and 182 to move intooperable relationship with respect to the lead wire 25 held by theHattening rolls 126 and 128. This elevation of the funnel S4 and itsdepending nozzle 85 is effected as the rod 88 approaches the end of itsupward travel because at that time the top of solenoid 102 engages thebottom of rod 98 depending from arm S5 in which the funnel 84 is mountedand pushes the rod 9S upwardly, raising the arm 86 and the funnel 84upwardly from the position shown in Figure l to the position shown inFigure 9.

The rod 88 not only moves the wire gripping jaws upwardly' into operablerelationship with respect to the lead wire 26 held by the flatteningrolls 126 and 122i, but it also moves the wire guiding tube 190 intoposition beneath the wire gripping jaws. As the rod 83 moves upwardly(Fig. 1), it carries with it the arm 203 which is-xedly mounted thereonand the sleeve 210 rides along on rod 204. Since arm 268 moves intoengagement with the lower face of arm 266 before the rod 88 hascompleted its upward travel, the arm 206 and its associated partsincluding wire guiding tube 190 are moved upwardly during the remainderof the upward travel of rod 88, being disposed, at the end of the upwardstroke of rod 88, in the position shown in Figure 9.

With the Wire gripping jaws 174 and 132 in wire-receiving relationshipwith respect to the wire 26 held by fiattening rolls 126 and 126, andthe wire guiding tube 190 disposed beneath the wire gripping jaws and inregister with the wire 26, the next two operations performed aregripping of the wire by the jaws and release of the wire by theiiattening rolls. Since switch 264 (Fig. la), to which solenoid 102(Fig. l) is connected by wires 170, is normally open, thereby permittingspring 184 to keep movable jaw 174 (Fig. ll) closed with respect tostationary jaw 182, it must be closed to draw movable jaw 174 open withrespect to stationary jaw 182 to receive lead wire 26. This actionoccurs when lobe 268e (Fig. la) on cam 268e moves into contact with anddeliects pivotally mounted arm 274i. At about the same time that themovable jaw 17 4 closes with respect to stationary jaw 182 to grip thelead wire 26, the flattening rolls 1267and 12b (Fig. 9) rotate to aposition where the flattened portions of their peripheries are oppositeone another, thereby releasing the lead wire 26 to the Wire grippingjaws 174 and 182.

Delivery of lead wire 26 by jaws 174 and 132 to wire receiving tube 28d(Fig. 9) of stem head 232 mounted on the rotatable table 284 of a sternmachine is effected by the return or downward stroke of rod 38. Thereturn stroke of rod Se effects a return of funnel S4, jaws 174 and'182,and wire guiding tube 190 to their respective positions as shown inFigure 1. The funnel 84 drops down with the return of rod 38 until thearm 85 on which it is mounted seats on coliar 9i) fixedly mounted onpost 20. Wire guiding tube 1% moves downwardly until rod 294, on whicharm 2&6 is iixedly mounted, strikes stop 286 mounted on arm 2% attachedto post 20. Although arm 20% is iixedly mounted on rod 88, the furtherdownward travel of rod $8 after rod 2114 strikes stop 286 is taken up bysleeve 212 sliding on rod 204. Thus Wire guiding tube 19thy is disposedas shown in Figures l and l0 before rod '28 completes itsV returnstroke.V Since wire gripping jaws 174 and 132 travel downwardly the samedistance as rod S8 because they are fixedly mounted thereon throughsolenoid 102 and arm 100, the wire gripping jaws, in their furtherdownward travel, thread wire 26 (Fig. 10) into the wire guiding tubewhich now extends into the lamp flare 290 of the stem head 282. Sinceblock 192 is pivotally mounted on the vertical leg of bracket 196 byshoulder screw 198, engagement of the top face of arm 188 by screw 186extending through fixed jaw 182 causes a slight clockwise rotation ofwire guiding tube 190, arm 188 and block 192 about screw 198 as a pivotas is shown in Figure l0, thereby canting the wire guiding tube 190enough to channel the lead wire 26' into wire receiving tube 289 whenthe wire is released by jaws 174 and 182. Solenoid 102 is now energizedto retract the core 172 thereof and the movable jaw 174 connectedthereto to effect a release of the wire 26, thus permitting it to dropinto wire receiving tube Zti, Energization of the solenoid occtus whencam follower 268g rides over lobe 263!) on cam 263:1 (Fig. la), therebydeflecting the pivotally mounted arm 270 and causing a closing of theswitch 264.

Canting of wire guiding tube 19% on the side of the apparatus oppositethat just described, in order to effect a similar positioning of leadwire 26 to guide it into wire receiving tube 280 is effected by amechanism (not shown) similar to screw 186 except that, it consists of aprotuberance extending laterally from block 192 which is engaged anddeiiected by an extension of arm 101)' as the rod S8 approaches the endof its return travel, this modification being necessary to provide acounterclockwise rotation of wire guiding tube 196 to direct wire 26into wire receiving tube 280.

When the rod 88 starts its upward travel for the next cycle ofoperation, the force exerted on arm 18S by a screw 186 (Fig. l0) isrelieved and the flexible wire 2112 returns the block 192 to which it isconnected to its normal position and thus effects a return of wireguiding tube 19t) to its true vertical position.

What we claim is:

1. The combination, with a stem machine having a plurality of heads forsupporting stem elements and movable to a plurality of work stations, ofa wire flattening, hooking and -loading apparatus disposed adjacent tosaid stem machine at one of the work stations thereof, said apparatuscomprising: a pair of rolls disposed side-by-side in the same plane andnormally spaced from one another a distance less than the diameter ofthe wire, and having a wire-feeding end and a wire-delivery end, theperiphery of each of said rolls having a wire-flattening portion and awire-feeding portion; an anvil mounted adjacent to the saidwire-delivery end of said rolls and disposed in alignment with the spacedefined by the adjacent peripheral portions of said rolls; a wipermounted adjacent to said anvil and in cooperative relationship withrespect thereto; means for feeding individual pre-cut wires end-on tosaid wire-feeding end of said rolls; means for rotating said rolls todraw one of saidwires therebetween, firstly by the said wire-atteningportions thereof to effect a attening of a portion of said wire andsecondly by the said wire-feeding portions thereof to feed the flattenedportion Y of'said wire to 4said anvil; means for moving said wiper intoengagement with the flattened portion of said wire and bending it oversaid anvil to form a hook; means for releasing the hooked wire from thesaid rolls; and means forrtransferring the hooked wire, immediately uponits release from said rolls, to a head of the stem machine.

2. The combination, with a stem machine lhaving a plurality of heads forsupporting stern elements and movable to a plurality of work stations,of a wire flattening, hooking and loading apparatus, disposed adjacentto said stem machine at one of the work stations thereof, said apparatuscomprising: a pair of rolls disposed side-by-side in the same plane andnormally spaced from one another a distance less than the diameter ofthe wire, and having a wire-feeding end anda wire-delivery end, theperiphery of each of said rolls having a wire-flattening portion and a.wire-feeding portion; a hook forming mechanism rolls; means -for feedingindividual pre-cut wires end-on to said wire-feeding end of said rolls;means for rotating said rolls to draw one of said Wires therebetween,firstly by the 'said wire-flattening portions thereof to eect aflattening of a portion of said wire and secondly by the said4wire-feeding portions thereof to feed the attened portion of said wireto the said wire-delivery end of said rolls; means for reciprocatingsaid hook forming mechanism into and out of operative relationship withrespect to the flattened 'portion of :said wire at the wire-delivery endof said rolls to form a hook thereon; a wire transfer mechanism mountedbetween said rolls and a head of said stem machine; and means -forreciprocating said wire transfer mechanism between said rolls andsaidhead of .said stem machine to effect a transfer of the flattened,

10 hooked wire from said rolls to said head of the stem machine.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,187,472 Sisson June 13, 1916 1,669,833 McColl May 15, 1928 1,751,434Wildeboer Mar. 18, 1930 1,801,119 Soepnel Apr. 14, 1931 1,930,316 LedigOct. 10, 1933 1,968,802 Powers July 31, 1934 2,114,844 Krause Apr. 19,1938 2,329,769 Kinyon Sept. 21, 1943 2,361,983 Veley Nov. 7, 19442,575,771 Russell Nov. 20, 1951

